Chapter 42: Helping a Good Bro
For some reason even Ye Ziming himself didn’t really understand, his family always thought he was into guys, and they even hoped he would get a girlfriend.
But when it came to girls, he truly had no interest at all. He even found the soft and delicate ones kind of annoying, so much so that he would stay away from them on purpose.
Because of this, he was assigned to take over a maid cafe, a place full of pretty girls.
“Your parents... are serious?”
After hearing her good buddy’s story, Lin Muqing was genuinely shocked.
She’d grown up watching countless dramas and reading all kinds of novels, but she had never seen parents this... ridiculous.
So ridiculous that she didn’t even know how to describe it.
“They probably are.”
With no expression, Ye Ziming nodded and replied softly. Then he remembered something from the night before and added,
“After they found out I was dating someone, they sent me some money and told me to bring you home sometime.”
Even Ye Ziming felt a bit embarrassed after saying that, because the money came with a special note. It was meant to be used for dating expenses.
He glanced at Lin Muqing beside him. Now that he had made everything clear, it was up to her to decide what to do.
“So what you need now is someone to pretend to be your girlfriend and help you deal with your family, right?”
After thinking it over, Lin Muqing finally came to that conclusion and looked over at her good buddy.
First, she believed that her bro wouldn’t lie to her. Second, if this was the reason, then everything that had happened recently made sense.
It’s just... the way his parents handled things was hard to understand. Or maybe it was just impossible to understand at all.
Is this what rich families are like? Lin Muqing wondered.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Ye Ziming gave a light nod, then squinted slightly. The way he looked at Lin Muqing changed just a bit. There was something subtle in his expression.
He started to smile lightly. After all, he never said he wanted her to pretend to be his girlfriend, she was the one who said that.
And he didn’t confirm it either. He just gave a vague reply.
“Ohhh~ so that’s how it is.”
With one hand supporting her chin and the other across her chest, Lin Muqing lowered her head and thought for a moment. In her mind, her bro had just admitted it.
After she figured it out, she relaxed a lot. So he’s just in trouble and needs my help, she thought.
“Well, since you’re my good bro, just leave it to me!”
She raised her hand and patted his shoulder, showing a confident smile like she was reluctantly agreeing to help.
To be honest, her bro had helped her so many times she couldn’t even count. She had no idea how to repay all those favors.
But now the chance was right in front of her. Her bro needed help, so of course she’d jump in without hesitation.
Even though wearing girl clothes and stuff was super hard to deal with, when she thought about doing it for her buddy, it somehow didn’t seem that bad anymore.
Kinda weird, but whatever.
“Alright.”
Ye Ziming let out a quiet breath, feeling secretly pleased.
He hadn’t expected Lin Muqing not only to accept it calmly but even offer to help on her own. That was a nice surprise.
Still keeping a calm face, he narrowed his eyes a bit, giving her a look that held some subtle meaning.
Then, with a faint smile, he led her into the elevator.
Talking about this had taken some time. They’d finished the conversation downstairs in the apartment complex, not in front of Uncle Liu.
“How come you’re so late today?”
As soon as the front door opened, Uncle Liu’s voice could be heard. He was sitting on the sofa watching TV, just like usual.
When he noticed the door opening, he looked over out of habit and then stood up, walking toward the kitchen.
“Something came up. Took a bit of time,” Ye Ziming replied while stepping into the entryway, bringing Lin Muqing in with him.
Standing by the shoe cabinet near the door, Ye Ziming pulled out his own slippers, and also took out a brand-new pair of small pink slippers.
“You’ll wear these from now on.”
As he spoke, he gently kicked aside the generic guest slippers on the floor and handed the pink slippers to Lin Muqing.
“Uh... why are they pink?”
She understood what he meant right away. These were clearly meant to be her slippers. But they were pink, and so cute.
It made her feel kind of... weird. She couldn’t help thinking, ‘Does this guy have too much of a girly side? It’s practically overflowing.’
“Men’s slippers are too big. They don’t fit you.”
After changing his own shoes, Ye Ziming glanced at her feet and explained with a smile.
Half of what he said was true. Lin Muqing’s feet were indeed very small, even compared to most girls, they looked really petite.
As for the other half... last night, he’d asked Uncle Liu to pick up a pair of women’s slippers while buying groceries. That’s all there was to it.
“Emmm... alright then.”
Looking at the pink slippers, Lin Muqing still felt like something was a little off, but she couldn’t figure out exactly what.
So she gave up trying to figure it out, changed her shoes without overthinking, and followed him inside.
To be honest, the slippers actually fit really well and were super comfy, way better than the 9.9 yuan free-shipping ones she had at home.
By this time, Uncle Liu had already placed the food on the dining table. He was just waiting for them to sit down so they could start eating.
“Uncle Liu.”
She politely greeted him before sitting down at the table, ready to have lunch with them.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
Uncle Liu had always liked polite kids like Lin Muqing. While speaking, he even served her a bowl of rice.
“Thank you, Uncle Liu!”
A little flustered by the unexpected kindness, Lin Muqing quickly reached out with both hands and even stood up to take the bowl.
She sneaked a side glance at her good buddy, and once she saw that he’d already started eating, she began digging in too.
After lunch, Uncle Liu did a bit of cleaning up, then headed over to the house next door. Basically ending his workday and going home.
Now, only Lin Muqing and Ye Ziming were left in the house.
“Hey... so how are you planning to deal with your family later?”
While resting on the couch to digest, Lin Muqing poked her bro in the arm and asked a bit hesitantly.
Earlier, she’d agreed to help without thinking too much after hearing he was in trouble.
But now that she had a chance to think, she suddenly realized this could be risky. What if someone found out her secret about dressing as a girl?
She would be so embarrassed she’d want to disappear from the world!
“Deal with them?”
Ye Ziming raised an eyebrow. He didn’t really get what Lin Muqing meant by that.
“You know, like... is there anything I’m supposed to do?”
Seeing the confused look on his face, she quickly explained further.
“Not for now...”
Ye Ziming began explaining things to her.
His parents didn’t live in this city, and they basically never came over. Even if they did want to meet, he would be the one going back.
When the time comes, he could just say that Lin Muqing was a bit shy and didn’t want to meet them. That should be enough to get by.
After all, they wouldn’t be the type to force someone.